High school baseball: Kerr has stellar debut for St. Mary (With video)

Scott Mahoney/SMahoney@MorningJournal.com
St. Mary pitcher Deon Kerr delivers a pitch during a game against Edison, on April 21, in Sandusky. The Panthers defeated the Chargers 3-2.

SANDUSKY — No one was more excited for the April 21 matchup against Edison than St. Mary junior Deon Kerr.
St. Mary (10-4, 1-3 SBC) had finally reached the 14th game of the season, meaning Kerr, a transfer from Margaretta, was finally eligible to play.
He showed rust initially, but Kerr was a major factor in St. Mary’s 3-2 Sandusky Bay Conference victory over Edison (10-2, 2-1 SBC).
“I just, I don’t know,” Kerr said of being back on the field. “Words just can’t even describe how happy I am to finally be back out here.”
St. Mary coach Ben Stover wasted no time getting the southpaw into the rotation, starting Kerr in his first game of eligibility.
“Deon, that was his first start of the year,” Stover said. “I knew he would be good for us, but I wasn’t quite sure what to expect in this one.”
What Kerr delivered was a fantastic outing, save for a shaky first inning.
“I was a bit nervous,” Kerr said of playing in his first game. “I was excited and nervous, and it got the better of me at first.”
Kerr started the game by walking the Chargers’ first two hitters. He got designated hitter Adam Wolf to hit a grounder back to him and threw him out at first, putting runners on second and third with one out.
Edison pitcher Adam Wroblewski made Kerr pay for those initial walks, driving an 0-1 pitch to center field for a two-run double.
“I just wanted to get out there and make a good debut,” Kerr said. “I was like, ‘This is it. This is what you’ve been wanting.’
“After I left that one hanging to him (Wroblewski), I just got into it, and the pressure was gone.”
Getting into it was an understatement. Kerr struck out the next two Edison batters to get out of the inning and only allowed two hits for the remainder of his four innings pitched.
He did not receive a decision in the game, but his impact was there, said Stover.
“If Deon didn’t do what he did, I’m not sure if we would have been in the game,” Stover said. “For his first outing, he was fantastic.”
Kerr went four innings, allowing two runs on three hits. He struck out seven, walked two and hit a batter.
“I just still don’t know what to feel,” Kerr said. “I’ve been waiting to get back out there. This is a great day.”
Kerr exited the game appearing as if he may get the loss — St. Mary trailed Edison 2-1 heading into the fifth — in spite of his excellent day.
The lone Panthers run had come unearned in the bottom of the second inning.
Caleb Severance drew a lead-off walk, stole second, advanced to third on an error and scored on a wild pitch, allowing the Panthers to get on the board without a hit.
“You can’t give a team like St. Mary free runs,” Edison coach Sean Hoover said. “They’re going to make you pay, and that’s what they did.”
Edison clung to its one run lead until the bottom of the fifth, when St. Mary managed to string together a few hits, aided by an error, to plate two and take a 3-2 lead.
The Panthers’ Tanner Roth, who had taken a nasty pitch to the elbow in the second inning, led off for St. Mary and reached on a fielding error. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and third following a single by Trevor Fitzthum.
With men on the corners and no outs, senior Kyle Feyedelem delivered for the Panthers, hitting a 2-2 pitch to left-center, scoring both baserunners and putting the Panthers on top, 3-2.
“I just knew that I needed to get a big hit for the team,” Feyedelem said. “I’d been slumping a bit, so I wanted to break it. He (Wroblewski) threw me one right down the plate and I got a good piece of it.”
Edison threatened a comeback in the top of the seventh, but the rally was squashed when Severance made a fantastic diving catch in center field with Edison runners on first and second for the final out of the game.
“These guys just kept battling back,” Stover said. “They weren’t going to give up. Edison is a tough team, so I’m glad to get our first SBC win against them.”
Lucas Will picked up the win for the Panthers, pitching three shutout innings while allowing two hits.
Wroblewski took the loss. He went the distance for the Chargers, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits. He struck out eight and walked three.
“We just didn’t take care of our jobs when we needed to,” Hoover said. “We had guys in scoring position plenty of times and Adam pitched a great game for us. I was happy with the outing he gave us, I just wish we could have given him more run support and that we would have committed less errors behind him.”

About the Author

Jon is a 2011 graduate of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. While at Calvin, Jon worked for the college newspaper, Chimes, where he was the sports editor and co-managing editor. Jon began writing for The Morning Journal in March of 2013 as a crime reporter before moving to the sports department in December of 2013. Reach the author at jbehm@morningjournal.com
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